The tunnel fell silent.
The man standing beneath the flickering light looked to be in his early fifties. His silver hair was neatly combed, and he wore an expensive charcoal suit that seemed strangely untouched by the chaos above.
He smiled as though greeting old friends.
"Victoria."
She didn't lower her pistol.
"I watched you die."
"So did everyone else," the man replied calmly.
Emily's eyes darted between them.
"You know him?"
Victoria's jaw tightened.
"His name is Adrian Volkov."
Emily recognized the name immediately.
The FBI had mentioned him only once during training.
A ghost.
A legend.
A crime boss believed to have disappeared more than a decade ago.
Volkov spread his hands.
"I've heard so many wonderful things about you, Agent Carter."
Emily aimed her weapon directly at him.
"Hands where I can see them."
He chuckled.
"You really are your father's daughter."
Emily froze.
"How do you know my father?"
Volkov's smile faded.
"Officer Daniel Carter was one of the few honest policemen left in this city."
"He made life... difficult."
Emily felt a knot form in her stomach.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your father came very close to destroying everything I built."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Leave her out of this."
Volkov looked at her with amusement.
"Still protecting people."
"How disappointing."
Somewhere above them, another explosion echoed through the tunnels, shaking dust from the ceiling.
Volkov didn't even flinch.
"The docks are burning."
"The FBI blames you."
"The surviving gangs blame you."
He smiled.
"Exactly as planned."
Emily frowned.
"You started this."
"I started a new era."
Volkov's voice echoed through the tunnel.
"For years, New York has belonged to frightened old families clinging to outdated rules."
He looked directly at Victoria.
"Your father believed in loyalty."
"I believe in fear."
Victoria's grip tightened around her pistol.
"You murdered him."
Volkov didn't deny it.
"He refused to join me."
Emily looked at Victoria.
This was the first time she had seen genuine anger behind the mafia queen's controlled expression.
For a moment, Victoria wasn't the untouchable leader of the Moretti family.
She was simply a daughter standing before the man who had destroyed her life.
Emily took a careful step forward.
"You're under arrest."
Volkov laughed.
"Do you really think this is an arrest?"
He snapped his fingers.
Metal doors slammed shut at both ends of the tunnel.
Emily spun around.
"We're trapped."
Hidden lights flickered on, revealing armed men emerging from side passages.
Black uniforms.
Silver snake emblems.
The Black Vipers.
At least twenty of them.
Victoria whispered,
"He planned every step."
Volkov nodded proudly.
"I knew you would come here."
Emily exchanged a quick glance with Victoria.
Neither of them said a word.
They didn't need to.
They were both calculating the odds.
And the odds were terrible.
Volkov slowly walked closer.
"You interest me, Victoria."
"You've built an empire."
"But you've become... sentimental."
He glanced toward Emily.
"I wonder why."
Victoria answered without hesitation.
"You'll never know."
Emily looked at her in surprise.
Volkov noticed.
"There it is."
"The hesitation."
"The weakness."
He smiled.
"Love always begins with denial."
Emily immediately spoke.
"You're wrong."
Volkov laughed again.
"Perhaps."
"But I can see it."
Victoria remained expressionless.
"You're seeing what you want to see."
"Am I?"
One of the Vipers approached Volkov.
"The explosives are ready."
Emily's heart skipped.
"Explosives?"
Volkov nodded.
"In exactly six minutes..."
"...this entire tunnel collapses."
Emily stared at him.
"Your own men are down here."
"They volunteered."
His answer was chilling.
Victoria quietly leaned toward Emily.
"When I move..."
"...run."
Emily whispered back,
"I'm not leaving you."
"You don't have a choice."
"I always have a choice."
For the first time, Victoria looked directly into Emily's eyes.
There was no mask.
No coldness.
Only concern.
It caught Emily completely off guard.
Volkov checked his watch.
"I've waited years for this moment."
He looked at Victoria.
"You inherited your father's empire."
"But tonight..."
"...the Moretti name ends."
He turned to Emily.
"And the FBI loses its brightest new agent."
Silence settled over the tunnel.
Water dripped steadily from a broken pipe.
Every heartbeat seemed louder than the last.
Emily slowly adjusted her grip on her pistol.
Victoria shifted her weight ever so slightly.
Volkov smiled.
He expected fear.
Instead...
He saw determination.
He sighed.
"Such a shame."
"You could have ruled this city together."
Victoria answered with quiet certainty.
"We never would have ruled it your way."
Volkov's smile disappeared.
"Kill them."
Before the nearest Viper could raise his rifle—
The tunnel lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness swallowed everyone.
A single gunshot echoed through the underground passage.
Then another.
Someone screamed.
Emily reached instinctively for Victoria's arm.
Instead of pulling away, Victoria grabbed her hand.
"Stay with me."
In the darkness, with enemies closing in from every direction, they had only one chance to survive.
Together.